So, you may have heard that California has a new application that allows residents to notify when they come in contact with someone suffering from COVID-19 disease and wants to know more about it. Well, you have come to the right place.
First, an application called the CA Notification goes live Thursday. It was developed jointly by Apple and Google, and allows users of smartphones to receive notifications if they are in close contact with another user of the app who has tested positive. The more individuals who register, the more effective the application will be. Other states with similar plans have difficulty selecting populations.
[ Read more about how the app works and its implementation in California here. ]
But you want to know how to register.
For iPhone users, you are in luck. It only takes a couple of taps on your settings. For Android users, you have to keep your horses until Thursday: that’s when the app will be available for download from the Google Play Store.
Although California-specific technology goes live later this week, exposure notifications are already loaded on iOS 13.7 and are still accessible through your iPhone’s settings. Apple users can already go to “Settings” and select the app, and then go down and tap “Exposure Notifications”. From there, select “Enable Disclosure Notices” and select “United States” and “California” as your location and accept the terms and conditions. A pop-up will appear asking you to enable exposure notifications; Tap “Run”.
That’s it – you’re inside.
Until it goes live on Thursday, only participants in pilot programs on college campuses will be able to share their COVID-19 diagnosis.
Starting Thursday, when the CA announcement launches in the Google Play Store, Android users will be able to download the app, open it and enable exposure notifications.
The government, as Gavin Newsom put it, “is a very simple process.”
